18-year-old arrested for murdering mom

RIVERVIEW (FOX 13) - A Riverview teenager was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail Tuesday morning, accused of killing his mother on her 39th birthday.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Joshua Carmona had been planning to murder his mother and stepfather for some time and decided to carry out his plan Monday -- his mother's birthday.

Neither Carmona's mother, Tahirih D'Angelo, nor stepfather were home at first, but D'Angelo returned to their Riverview town home around noon. Deputies said Carmona distracted his mother, then beat her with a baseball bat and stabbed her in the neck with a butcher's knife.

"He had been planning to kill his mother and stepfather for a period of time and when he woke up that morning he determined that that was going to be the day," Col. Donna Lusczynski said during a news conference Tuesday morning.

Lusczynski said Carmona then picked up his 3-year-old half sister at daycare and called a friend to meet him. According to detectives, Carmona asked the friend to bring his half sister to family members because he "killed somebody and would be going to prison for a long time."

A little while later, deputies received a 911 call that someone had found D'Angelo's body inside her town home on Hawthorne Trace Lane.

Deputies spotted Carmona's car, pulled him over and arrested. He's now charged with first-degree murder.

"While he was in the car, he spontaneously did state that he killed his mother," Lusczynski said, adding the motive isn't entire clear at this point. "He felt that there were some ongoing family issues. At this time he has been charged and is placed in our jail. This is extremely tragic. A mother was killed on her birthday and now we have a three-year-old that's going to be motherless."

Deputies said Carmona told them he left both murder weapons in the home, but tried to clean the carpet with baking soda.

Investigators have looked into whether there were any obvious signs of trouble in the home.

"According to the stepfather and some of the family members, and even him, himself, there's no specific incidents of physical violence," Lusczynski said.

Carmona's stepfather wasn't home and is still alive. The 3-year-old is back in his care. Carmona is expected to have his first court appearance Wednesday.